Hay salting attachment for hay balers



April 18, 1950 A. F. SANNER, JR

7 HAY SALTING ATTACHMENT FOR HAY BALERS Filed July 12. 1949 INVENTOR. AB 7717/]? F. Sflfi/VEE, we.

7724M fi m/21m 147'7'016/VEYS.

usirso s mrss s ,FHGE

HYIY SALTING .A-TTACHMENT FOR HAY BALERS" Arthur F. Sanner, Jr., Circlev'ille', Kan's.

Application July 12, 1949, Serial Ni):104,171

(Cl; it-235) 3 Claims. 1-

This invention re'lates to-attachments for hay balers, and more particularly to an attachment for distributing seasoning or preservative-mud rial, such as salt, through hay-as the hay is beins-baled:

It. is among the objects-of the invention to provide an attachment which can be quickly and easily mounted. on a hay baler, of either the stationary or pick-up:type,- without any material. modification of the baler structure, which can be conveniently disposed adjacent the baler plunger or other compressing means-and operated by the movement of compressed hay through-the baler; to sift the material through the hay as it is being compressed, which is operative only when hay is being compressed, and which is simple and" durable in construction, fully automatic in operation, andeconomical to manufacture and; install.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent iroin a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of. a-fragmentary portion of a hay baler with a salt-distributing.

attachment illustrative of the invention operatively, installed thereon;

Figure 2 is-alongitudinal cross-section of the attachment on the line 2+4 of Figure. 1;

Figure 3: is a. transverse cross-section. of a fragmentary portion of the 'baler on the line 3-iiof' Figure 1;

Figure" s" a longitudinal: cross section of a fragmentary portion' of the attachment and the.

baler: on the line :l l='o1"= Figure 3'; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a somewhat modified ,saltdistributor arrangement.

Wth'continued reference to the drawing, the

baler therein illustrated is of the pick-up type and: comprises a bale chamber it, a plunger ll continuous and in alignment with tnenba-le: chamber at one end of the latter, pickup mechanism l2 operative to gather hay from the gr'cundand'feed the hay intothe plunger chamber atthe junctionof the latter with the bale chamber, asupporting axle l3transversely disposedbeneath the'plunger and bale chambers and the pick-up'mechanism, Wheels as journaled onthe axle i3 atrespectively opposite ends of the axle and supporting the baler, and bale-tying mechanism it carried on the bale chamber near the juncture of the bale chamber with the plunger chamber H. A plunger i6 reciprocates in the plunger chamber H and is driven by a 2 crank. W: connected to the plunger bya pitman or connectingrod 18.

The attachment comprises a hopper, generally: indicated at 2!), including a rectangular upper portion 2'! having side walls spaced fromand substantially parallel to each other, and end'walls disposed at respectively opposite ends of the side walls andsubstantially parallel-to each other, and a lower portion 22 having generally triangular-shaped end walls depending: from the end walls of the upper portion, respec ively, and downwardly-converging side walls: A fixed V- plate L t-extends longitudinally of the hopper atthe bottom thereof and between the bottom edges of the converging side walls of the lower portion- 2-2- of the hopper, and has-a series" of spaced-apart openings or apertures-215 therein A plate 2-5 isslidab'ly mounted .on the :uppersurface of the plate lidand is provided with aseries ofspaced-apart aperturesZS: which are variably; registrable with theapertures 24 and" plate 23 upon longitudinal sliding. of the plate 25 onthe platev 23 to regulate the openings through the two plates and thereby control the feed of in'aterial, such-as'salt; from the hopper through the feed plates 23: and 25:; The: plate 22' projects from one endiof the hopper and provided-on its outerend, with a handle 2'! by; means of through'the Openings inthe plates 23 and- 25 upon rotationof the shaft'28.

A second shaft is journale'd in the hopper and l extends longitudinally of the hopper" interiorly of the latter above and" substantially parallel to theplate 2'8.- the rad-ially projecting, spaced' apart and staggered arms 3! are provided on the second'shaft st towork the salt above the feed agitator 29 and crumble: all'lumps in the salt and reduce the salt to a condition in which it will pass freely through the openings infithe plates zt and 25] A third'sl'iaft 32 is' journaled on the toplof' the bale chamber is of' thebaler by suitablemeans, such asv the pillow blocks 33 and is? disposed at respectively opposite sides of the bale chamber In and receiving the shaft 32 near respectively opposite ends of the latter. This shaft extends transversely of the bale chamber, and

Suitable means; such as a star wheel 35 is secured on this shaft at a location intermediate the length of the shaft.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1, because of space limitations caused by the baletying mechanism [5, or other apparatus, the hopper is mounted in an elevated position above the bale chamber by suitable means, such as the braces 36 and 31, and a sheet metal spout 38 of narrow, elongated, cross-sectional shape extends from the bottom end of the hopper to the top of the bale chamber and the top wall of the bale chamber is provided with an elongated slot registering with the bottom end of the spout 38. The bottom end of the spout 38 is located near the front end of the plunger chamber, so that the salt will be applied to the hay as the bales are being formed and will sift down through the hay as the plunger operates rather than being deposited on the top sides of the bales. The third shaft 32 is disposed at a location spaced forwardly of the spout 38 where the bales have been formed and are moved outwardly or forwardly through the bale chamber Ill. The star wheel 35 engages the upper sides of the bales as they move through the bale chamber, a slot 39 being provided in the top wall of the bale chamber through which the star wheel extends. Movement of the bales through the bale chamber rotates the star wheel 35 which in turn rotates the third shaft 32.

A belt pulley 49 is secured on the shaft 32, at one end of the latter, and a corresponding belt pulley 4| is secured on the shaft 28 at the corresponding end of this shaft. A V-belt 42 drivingly connects the belt pulley 40 to the belt pulley 4!, so that the shaft 28 will be rotated when the shaft 32 is rotated by the movement of bales through the bale chamber. A second belt pulley 43 is secured on the shaft 28 adjacent the belt pulley 4|, and a complementary belt pulley 44 is secured on the shaft 36 at the corresponding end of this shaft, and a V-belt 45 drivingly connects the belt pulleys 43 and 44, so that the shaft will be rotated when the shaft 28 is rotated by the shaft 32.

With this arrangement, salt will be fed from the hopper 20 into the end of the bale chamber in which the bales are formed only as hay is fed into the baler and the bales are forced outwardly through the bale chamber. The application of salt to the hay is thus automaticall controlled, no salt being fed into the baler when bales are not being formed therein.

In the somewhat modified arrangement shown in Figure 5, the hopper 20 is mounted with its lower end substantially in contact with the upper side of the bale chamber and is secured to the bale chamber by suitable means, such as the brackets 46 and 4'1. This arrangement is possible where there is sufficient space to mount the hopper directly on the bale chamber at the end of the chamber in which the bales are formed. Otherwise, the construction is the same as that illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, and described above.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. lhe present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing de- 4 scription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, itended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A salt-distributing attachment for a hay baler comprising an elongated hopper having a length substantially equal to the width of the bale chamber of a baler, means mounting said hopper on the bale chamber of a baler to extend trans- -f versely of the bale chamber at the location at which the bales are formed therein, adjustable feed plates carried by said hopper at the bottom end thereof, a first shaft journaled in said hopper and extending longitudinally interiorly thereof immediately above said feed plates, salt-agitating means on said first shaft, a second shaft journaled in said hopper and extending longitudinally thereof above said first shaft, salt-crumbling means on said second shaft, a third shaft journaled on the bale chamber at a location at which formed bales move through the chamber, a star wheel on said third shaft engaging bales in the bale chamber to drive said third shaft as the bales move through the chamber, and means drivingly connecting said third shaft to said first and second shafts to operate said agitating and saltcrumbling means.

2. A salt-distributing attachment for a hay baler comprising an elongated hopper having a length substantially equal to the width of the bale chamber of a baler, means mounting said hopper on the bale chamber of a baler to extend transversely of the bale chamber at the location at which the bales are formed therein, adjustable feed plates carried by said hopper at the bottom end thereof, a first shaft journaled in said hopper and extending longitudinally thereof immediately above said feed plates, salt-agitating means on said first shaft, a second shaft journaled on the bale chamber at a location at which formed bales move through the chamber, a star wheel on said second shaft engaging bales in the bale chamber to drive said second shaft as the bales move through the chamber, and means drivingly connecting said shafts to operate said salt-agitating means.

3. A salt-distributing attachment for a hay baler comprising an elongated hopper having a length substantially equal to the width of the bale chamber of a baler, means supporting said hopper above the bale chamber of a baler to extend transversely of the bale chamber adjacent the location at which the bales are formed, adjustable feed plates carried by said hopper at the bottom end thereof, a spout of elongated, rectangular cross-section extending from the bottom end of said hopper to said bale chamber at a location at which the bales are formed therein, a first shaft journaled in said hopper and extending longitudinally thereof immediately above said feed plates, salt-agitating means on said first shaft, a second shaft journaled on the bale chamber at a location at which formed bales move through the chamber, a star wheel on said second shaft engaging bales in the bale chamber to drive said second shaft as the bales move through the chamber, and means drivingly connecting said shafts to drive said salt-agitating means.

ARTHUR F. SANNER, JR.

No references cited. 

